Funding for B.C. school maintenance tops $82 million

The province is giving another boost to B.C. school districts, this time for maintenance funding.

A total of 176 projects, from mechanical upgrades to fire alarm and sprinkler systems, will be funded through $82.5 million dollars.

“Increasing the funding to these programs is the first step to address the backlog of school maintenance in this province,” Education Minister Rob Fleming said in a statement Tuesday.

Big ticket projects include about $3.2 million for the Central Okanagan School District, earmarked for dust collection system upgrades and 15 replacement school buses, and HVAC and building upgrades at Irwin Park Elementary in West Vancouver to the tune of $3.7 million.